Learning English

Daniel
Hello.

Melinda
Hi.

Daniel
You must be Melinda?

Melinda
Yes, yes. Are you Daniel?

Daniel
I am Daniel indeed. Lovely to meet you.

Melinda
Very nice to meet you.

Daniel
Oh going for the handshake.

Melinda
Absolutely, keeping it formal.

Daniel
I love your dress. It’s beautiful.

Melinda
Thanks.

Daniel
Yeah, when she first turned up, I thought she was very pretty. She seems really nice. I was excited for the date, you know.

Melinda
So, very nice to meet you.

Daniel
Lovely to meet you too.

Melinda
Yeah.

Daniel
Have you come far?

Melinda
No, no. I actually work just round the corner, so when you suggested this restaurant, I thought well great that’s really handy for me.

Daniel
I come here all the time.

Melinda
Do you? So, are you nearby as well?

Daniel
I actually live in Oxford.

Melinda
Do you?

Daniel
Little bit of a trek, but…

Melinda
Oh I see.

Daniel
I do it all the time.

Melinda
It’s quite a good line though, isn’t it?

Daniel
Er, yeah, it’s a great line.

Melinda
You get the train from near here, don’t you?

Daniel
Yeah, just up the road.

Melinda
Cool, cool. I’ve never eaten here before.

Daniel
Drinks?

Melinda
Oh drinks! Oh yes, now you’re talking my language. Yes!

Daniel
My apologies. Shall we just… couple of glasses of white?

Melinda
Yeah, I mean if we’re both having white, we might as well have a bottle?

Daniel
Er... Ooh… It started off well. The food was delicious. She was great company, but she did order quite a few drinks.

Daniel
The pad Thai is absolutely amazing.

Melinda
Oh yeah, but listen a good pad Thai you can’t beat it.

Daniel
That’s it, right?

Melinda
They probably have some nice sides and starters and things.

Daniel
Yeah. Prawns is delicious.

Melinda
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Daniel
I haven’t ventured beyond that.

Melinda
Have you not?

Daniel
No, I’m a very boring eater.

Melinda
Shall we see what they recommend?

Daniel
Okay.

Melinda
Yeah.

Daniel
I think that’s a good idea.

Melinda
Because obviously the pad Thai might be quite heavy. So they might have some nice kind of like spicy bits from the sides.

Daniel
That sounds delicious.

Daniel
Cheers.

Melinda
Cheers, nice to meet you.

Daniel
Lovely to meet you, too.

Melinda
Yeah… Oop down the hatch!

Daniel
Ooh, really gets the back of your throat, doesn’t it.

Melinda
Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Nice and warming. It’s pretty cold outside.

Daniel
It is, isn’t it? After a long day’s work, you just…

Melinda
Oh this wine’s great.

Daniel
Yeah.

Melinda
It’s going down…

Daniel
Cheers.

Melinda
Cheers. It’s going down a bit easy.

Daniel
Well, you’ve finished your first glass.

Melinda
I know, we might be getting another bottle quite soon.

Daniel
Oh, I’ve not even had a sip yet.

Melinda
Yeah, erm. So, thanks. If you just… do you want to leave the drinks menu on the table? Just because, yeah… we’ll be coming back for some more.

Daniel
Not really, no. By the end of the date, she’d brought out her hip flask, and… we were both quite drunk and it was pretty relentless to be honest.

Melinda
There’s a great place… like a block or so away. And it does a great happy hour.

Daniel
A bar?

Melinda
Yeah, so… they do the most amazing cocktails. And I think we’ll probably get there just in time for happy hour to get our order in.

Daniel
I thought we could have some coffee and straighten up a bit.

Melinda
No! That’ll sober us up! That’s cheating.

Daniel
Oh what’s that?

Melinda
It’s just a… Oh, look. It’s my hip flask. I don’t leave the house without it. And it’s always got whisky in it.

Daniel
There’re still shots on the table.

Melinda
We can have a nip on the way next door… a nip of whisky.

Daniel
You know what, I think I’m gonna go home.

Daniel
I don’t think so. No. She was lovely, but I don’t think I can keep up with her.